Revelation 4:6: And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal....

Doctrine and Covenants Section 77:1 interprets the sea of glass like unto crystal¹ mentioned by John in Revelation 4:6. According to this verse, the sea of glass is a symbol² of "the earth, in its sanctified, immortal, and eternal state."³ Based on this language, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints commonly interpret the sea of glass in Revelation 4:6 as the celestialized earth after its death and resurrection⁴ rather than celestial paradise at the time of John's vision. If the sea of glass in Revelation 4:6 is the resurrected earth, then it is synonymous with the new heaven and new earth described by John in Revelation 21:1.⁵ The two are not synonymous, however, for each of the reasons that follow:

First, the words sanctified, immortal, and eternal certainly describe the celestial earth in its resurrected state, but the same words also describe the celestial paradise of earth before the earth's resurrection. In both cases, the earth is not an actual sea of glass, nor is it actual crystal.⁶ These familiar objects⁷ are simply like unto the sanctified, immortal and eternal part of the earth either before its resurrection or after its final post-resurrection glorification.⁸ The final glorification of the earth will come after the millennium and little season,⁹ when the earth has died and is resurrected.¹⁰ Pending final glorification, the earth's celestial paradise for all righteous disembodied spirits is still a sanctified, immortal and eternal part of this earth.¹¹

Second, John's visions in the Book of Revelation proceed chronologically.¹² Therefore, any vision of the resurrected and celestialized earth in Revelation chapter 4 would be completely out of order. In Revelation chapter 21, John describes the resurrected and celestialized earth as a new heaven and new earth in its proper sequence after his discussion of the millennium and little season in Revelation chapter 20.

Third, John's vision of celestial paradise in Revelation chapter 4 describes God's throne, but it is not placed in the midst of the sea of glass. The sea of glass is before (separated from) the throne of God.¹³ Once the earth is resurrected and celestialized, the earth will then be a sea of glass and God's throne will then be in the midst of that sea of glass.¹⁴

Fourth, in Revelation chapter 4, God the Father sits alone on the throne.¹⁵ When the earth is celestialized in Revelation chapter 21, Christ and other exalted saints will also sit with the Father on the same throne.¹⁶ That imagery does not exist in John's vision of celestial paradise in Revelation chapter 4 because John's vision is not depicting conditions in the celestial kingdom after the end of the earth.

Fifth, celestial paradise is just one part of the postmortal spirit world within this earth.¹⁷ The conditions of paradise before the earth's resurrection is a type for, and in the likeness of,¹⁸ the celestialized earth after the resurrection.¹⁹ The description of one describes the other.²⁰ In other words, the sea of glass in Revelation 4:6 symbolically describes the celestial paradise of the postmortal spirit world in the likeness of the celestial kingdom (post-resurrection) because they have the same appearance.²¹ By way of comparison, when Doctrine and Covenants Section 130:7 states that angels "reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass," this can describe disembodied spirits in paradise before their resurrection²² or exalted saints on the celestialized earth after their resurrection.²³

Sixth, in Revelation 14:1, John describes the resurrected and exaltation-worthy saints that stand with Christ on mount Zion at the Second Coming. The place of their habitation in Revelation 15:2 is a "sea of glass mingled with fire."²⁴ Thus, after almost 2000 years, John's vision of paradise as a sea of glass in Revelation 4:6 has emerged as a sea of glass mingled with fire in Revelation 15:2. The element of fire has been added to the image because the redeemed saints on mount Zion are glorified and dwell with God in everlasting burnings that also happen to coincide with the burnings that will accompany the Second Coming. Even this time frame, however, is still as of the Second Coming and not the end of the earth after the millennium.²⁵

Seventh, John saw the celestial paradise in Revelation chapter 4 where disembodied spirits find rest as they await the resurrection in conditions that mirror the earth, in its final sanctified, immortal, and eternal state.²⁶ That state of rest is represented by the calm crystal-like sea of glass in Revelation 4:6.²⁷ Celestial-worthy saints can look forward to the peace and calm of that glassy sea in paradise as they overcome the troubled and tumultuous seas of mortality which are the symbolic support for the Great Whore in Revelation chapter 17.²⁸

Some scholars believe the sea of glass imagery in Revelation 4:6 comes from the molten sea²⁹ that stood on the backs of twelve oxen in the temple of Solomon.³⁰ Doctrine and Covenants Section 77:1 does not directly connect the image of John's sea of glass with Solomon's molten sea.³¹ However, an indirect connection exists because baptisms were performed in the molten sea anciently.³² Baptism is required for accountable people³³ to enter celestial paradise in the postmortal spirit world³⁴ and the celestial kingdom ultimately.³⁵

The sea of glass is a great Urim and Thummim³⁶ by which all things pertaining to inferior kingdoms will be manifest.³⁷ John's vision typologically reveals that even in paradise, according to Doctrine and Covenants Section 130:7-8, "all things ... are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord."³⁸ This suggests that spirits in celestial paradise no longer have a veil of forgetfulness to block the memory of their premortal existence, as is the case in this life.³⁹ Disembodied spirits in paradise⁴⁰ can therefore see and know all things for their glory.⁴¹ This is confirmed by the presence of the four beasts in celestial paradise that are full of eyes before and behind as discussed in the next section of this text.⁴²